preparing looseleaf packages for market. 4/ The other investigation indicated a labor 

 saving more than twice as great, or 161 man-hours per acre. 5/ 



On the basis of the experience gained inthe conduct of this marketing experiment, 

 a conservative estimate would be approximately 100 man-hours per acre saved by- 

 packing tobacco loose with the frame instead of tying the leaves into bundles. If 

 average yield is 1,900 pounds per acre, the estimated labor saving amounts to 5.3 

 man-hours per 100 pounds of cured tobacco. An aggregation of the labor savings in 

 the three States where flue-cured tobacco is marketed in tied form shows that 

 approximately 6 million man-days or $36 million could be saved by growers (table 2). 

 Market preparation is one operation where flue- cured tobacco growers have a very 

 good opportunity to reduce production costs. 



Table 2» — Estimated savings in farm labor and costs from selling - flue-cured tobacco 



loose rather than tied in bundles 1/ 



Area 



Acreage 

 (1963) 2/ 



Labor savings 



Cost savings 



Virginia 



North Carolina. 

 South Carolina. 



Total. 



Acres 1,000 man-hours 3/ 1,000 man-days 4/ 1,000 dpi, ^i 



69,500 



460,500 

 80,000 



610,000 



6,950 



46,050 



8,000 



61,000 



695 



4,605 



800 



>,10( 



4,170 



27,630 



4,800 



36,600 



l/ A yield of 1,900 pounds per acre is assumed. 



2/ Annual Report on Tobacco Statistics — 1963. U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Mktg Serv. , 

 Statis. Bui. 343, Apr, 1964. 



3/ Reduction in labor used is 100 hours per acre 



4/ One man-day equals 10 hours. 



5/ An average wage of $.60 per hour is assumed. 



Advantages to the Industry 



Improvements in farm-packing tobacco for market can have important effects on 

 the cost and efficiency of operations in auction selling, transporting, and warehousing. 

 By further design development and cooperation within the industry, it should be 

 possible to adopt a package which will advantageously affect all segments inthe 

 industry. 



Inthe auction warehouse, the package of straight-laid leaves could decrease costs 

 in several ways. At the time growers unload the tobacco from their trucks inside the 

 warehouse, considerable labor is expended intaking bundles from the sticks and packing 

 them on baskets before the tobacco can be weighed in at the scales. In contrast, 



4/ Brooks, R. C, and Toussaint, W. D. Labor Requirements in the Market Pre- 

 paration of Flue-Cured Tobacco. N.C. State CoL>, Raleigh, N.C., AE Inf. Series 98, 

 Feb. 1963, p. 3. 



5/ Crawford, D. E., Wynn, N. A., and Bickley,D. W. Marketing Flue-Cured Tobacco 

 Tied and Untied. S.C. Agr. Expt. Sta. and U.S. Agr. Mktg. Serv., AE 206, Mar. 1961, 

 p. 11. 



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